Ossett Town 2 - 2 Clitheroe

Clitheroe denied at the death

With games dropping like flies due to the weather, including one two miles down the road at Albion, the Ossett Town pitch bore up well and the healthy contingent of travelling fans were treated to a good dose of Vitamin D courtesy of some watery sunshine.

The Blues line-up included 18 year old loanee, George Hughes, from Shrewsbury Town and a return for Dimitri Tuanzebe. Clitheroe inevitably started slowly and after an early defensive mix up, it was left to Chris Thompson to paw away a looping header from underneath the bar. On 6 minutes, the action was at the other end as Kurt Willoughby took a quick throw to release Alex Newby, who surged down the left, cut inside and forced a save from the keeper, with Tuanzebe just failing to stab home the rebound.

The Clitheroe front three were starting to fire, but with a Clitheroe attack in progress on 23 minutes, Danny Brady uncharacteristically passed to a home player, and with a neat succession of passes, the ball nestled in the Clitheroe goal. Three minutes later, the lead would have been doubled except for a finger tip save at full stretch from Thompson. On 29 minutes, Tuanzebe conjured up some space and released Newby, who was felled in the box. He converted the spot kick himself.

Two more glaring chances fell Clitheroe’s way in short succession. On 37 minutes, Ross Dent burst forward from his own half, and laid the ball at pace to Tuanzebe who rounded the keeper but conspired to hit the side netting. Three minutes later, Tuanzebe almost made amends as he jinked on the left and drove a scudding cross in, which somehow evaded an outstretched Newby leg. However, the lead was taken by the Blues on 42 minutes, when Hughes dinked a superb free kick over the defence and in two movements Newby had controlled the ball and buried it in the net.

The game changed totally on 53 minutes, when in a melee at a throw in, Dent was shown an instant red for trying to stop an opposing playing burying his face in his own. A farcical post mortem by the officials lasting many minutes saw three more yellows awarded, but the game was now about containment for the Blues. The visitors kept their shape and apart from a Thompson point blank save on 70 minutes, Ossett barely had a shot. However, it was almost preordained that Town would score from a screamer, and so it proved on 88 minutes. It almost got worse when with 94 minutes on the clock, Ossett hit the Clitheroe woodwork.

However it is dressed up, this was two points denied, rather than lost by the incident at the start of the second half.